Trijicon MRO Patrol

Trijicon's MRO (Miniature Rifle Optic) is close to two years old now and has established itself as a quality, American-made red dot. With the introduction of the MRO Patrol model, I feel Trijicon has maximized the MRO platform.

The MRO is not a traditional "tube" red dot sight. The ocular lens is about the same size as you'll get with competing red dots, but the objective lens is a full 25mm in diameter. The resultant cone shape virtually eliminates the dreaded "tube effect" in red dots- in which you can see the inside of the tube, restricting your field of view. Yes, you're supposed to keep both eyes open when using a red dot, so a narrow tube shouldn't matter, but it does. The MRO doesn't have this issue.

Powered by a CR2032 lithium battery, the MRO has a two m.o.a. red dot and eight brightness settings (including three night vision) with a second Off setting in the middle so you don't have to turn the knob all the way to shut off the sight. At setting three, which is bright enough for a cloudy day or indoors, battery life is advertised as five years of continuous use.

The new MRO Patrol is the same basic unit but comes with a honeycomb kill-flash screwed onto the objective lens to eliminate glare. Both the ocular and objective lenses also come with flip-up lens covers. The end result makes the MRO noticeably longer (four inches), but I like the way it looks.

While the original mounts for the MRO worked, they were utilitarian and not quick to attach. The MRO Patrol comes from the factory with a QD thumbscrew flattop mount, stylishly angled, with your choice of a co-witness height for your AR or a lower one-third height. I really like the looks of the mount. The thumbscrew is spring-loaded and also has flats on it if you want to screw it down more than finger-tight.

I've been running an MRO Patrol on a CMMG Guard .45 ACP AR-15 pistol for a while now, and the Trijicon has weathered the recoil of the .45s without a single problem. My only complaint with the MRO Patrol is that at a suggested retail price of $919 it is not only one of the most expensive red dots on the market, it is nearly $300 more than the original MRO with mount.